JnU student Khadija, who spent 14 months behind bars, exempted from both DSA cases
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge AM Zulfikar Hayat's Court passed the order on Thursday as the court did not find any element in the case to frame charges against her.
A Dhaka court today (29 February) exonerated Jagannath University (JnU) student Khadijatul Kubra from a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) at the New Market police station.
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge AM Zulfikar Hayat's Court passed the order on Thursday (29 February) as the court did not find any element in the case to frame charges against her.
With the latest development, Khadija, who was released from Kashimpur Women's Jail in November last year after over 14 months of her arrest, has been exempted in both DSA cases filed against her, the JnU student told The Business Standard.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off my chest," she told TBS.
Meanwhile, despite exonerating her in the cases, the court ordered reinvestigating the allegation against retired Major Delowar Hossain, another accused in the case.
Earlier on January 28, Khadijatul Kubra was discharged from a case filed under the Digital Security Act at Kalabagan police station in the capital.
In October 2020, police filed two cases against Khadija and retired Maj Delowar Hossain at the Kalabagan and New Market Police Stations for 'spreading anti-government propaganda and harming Bangladesh's reputation.'
She was arrested on 17 September 2022.
Khadija finally walked out of jail on 20 November 2023, after securing bail from the Supreme Court.
According to the case details, Khadija and Delowar conspired to broadcast false, fabricated, and defamatory propaganda about the prime minister, various government agencies, and senior state officials in order to oust the country's legitimate administration. They were aiming to destroy communal harmony through their conspiracy by promoting enmity, hatred, and division among various communities, it said.
Khadija was 17 when the cases were filed under the Digital Security Act in 2020, but the case was filed showing her as an adult, according to her lawyer.
Despite having kidney disease, Khadija's bail petitions were repeatedly denied by a Dhaka court.
